Large Lump on Chest Near Crop

[ArrowheadG]

I haven't been able to check on my girls for a bit, but this still came up extremely fast. There's a large lump next to my Speckled Sussex's crop. I never noticed it before. It's hard to tell whether it hurts her, because I can't touch it without her trying to run away (I either grab her by her sides which she hates and will struggle to get free or try to touch it on the ground, and she doesn't like anything other than her back being pet while on the ground.) If anyone can tell me what this may be (other than the most obvious assumption of what this could be), please tell me! I will try and get her to a vet, but I can't be 100% sure that will happen, as my family isn't very wealthy and have very many money issues. I would like to be able to avoid this.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The angle makes it hard to tell what's going on but without more info it looks kind of like she just pigged out.

Check her in the morning and see if there is any improvement.

 

[rebrascora]

It is certainly worth trying to release air with a needle but you should be able to feel if it is air inside or tissue. If it is solid tissue or you cannot release any air with a hypodermic needle then my gut feeling is that it is probably a tumour and a vet is not likely to be able to help even if you could afford one.... my funds don't run to veterinary care for my chickens either so don't feel bad about that and I would hate for you to incur that expense when it may not benefit the bird anyway.
How old is she? Looking at her, I would guess that she is adolescent and that might point towards it being Marek's disease.
How long have you had her and was she vaccinated for Marek's. It is done by the hatchery when they hatch IF you request it and pay extra for the chick. If bought from a private breeder then usually they are not vaccinated. Have you had any lame chickens or ones that died in the past few months?
How many chickens do you have and what are their ages?

You will need to be more assertive if you want to try and help this bird. Lifting her off the roost at night is the best way to catch and examine her. Use a head torch, so that you have both hands free and use an old towel to wrap around her to keep her wings and feet secure whilst you examine her. Once she feels secure she will stop struggling. Enlist someone else to help you and discuss how it feels.... 2 pairs of hands and two minds are better than one for assessing things when you are inexperienced. If you decide to try to express it with a hypodermic needle, make sure it is sterile and give the skin a rub with an antiseptic wipe where you are going to insert the needle. You will only need a very short needle because if it is air, it will be pretty much just under the skin, so don't go deeper than quarter of an inch. If it feels really solid when you push it in, it is probably a tumour but have a good look at the skin for any discolouration or obvious blood vessels before you insert it. You will know pretty much immediately if it is air from a leaking air sac as you will hear it coming out.

Other things to do....
Check her crop function. Feel her crop at night when she goes to roost, remove access to food and feel it again first thing in the morning. If her crop (or at least one of the bumps on her chest) has not gone flat then she has a problem with her digestive tract. Obviously, give them their food once you have checked her in the morning.
Watch her closely when she is eating. Does she really eat or does she just pretend. Sick birds will often go through the motions of appearing healthy and active until they are too sock to do so. I have seen sick birds loo9k like they are eating with the rest of the flock but when you watch closely they pick up and drop the same piece of food.

In the photo her head is twisted to the left. Is it often in that position or was that just how you captured her in the photo?

Get back to us with more information as discussed above and better photos and hopefully we will have more idea.... bear in mind that when an animal is taken to the vet, he or she can see, feel, hear and smell the bird and watch how they react. We cannot do that from a computer screen, so we need you to provide as much information as you can, in order for us to help you.

 

[aart]

I can watch her today, though.

Might want to check her crop tonite after dark, then crate her with water only(no feed) so you can check that crop is empty in the morning...and check her droppings too.

My isolation notes:
I'd isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so you can closely monitor their intake of food and water, crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed), and their poops. Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling.

Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

 

[micstrachan]

Honestly, I think it actually is her crop. Can you check on her after she goes to roost? Then check her crop again in the morning.

 

[Kessel23]

It is hard to see anything from this angle. It just looks like an oversized crop to me. Has she been off feed recently? If a hen does not have food available she will eat a ton when food is made available. Their crops get very big when this happens and they usually go up onto the roosts to rest and process the food. Is their two lumps or is their just one? If it is just the one massive lump then it is probably just from her eating more than usual in a short period of time. Chickens had crops to store food, in the wild feed is not available all the time so if they stumble upon a big stash of seeds or other feed they will stuff themselves with as much as they can before another chicken comes and eats it.

 

[micstrachan]

Oh! Another thought! It could possibly be an air sac. Again, parting the feathers and looking closely at the skin, along with feeling it’s consistency, will probably help us all help you figure it out.

 

[azygous]

Here's my input, although @rebrascora has thoroughly covered it until you can examine your girl and report any new findings.

If it turns out to be a tumor, do not jump to the conclusions it's going to be deadly. If the lump is hard, it very likely is a tumor unless you see very red skin which would point to an infection. Chicken pus is also often solid feeling.

About six years ago, I discovered my oldest hen, a Light Brahma, had a tumor over her eye. She was happy and very normal so I didn't worry about it. Now, at age ten and a half, she's still got the tumor and it's much larger, but she is still being a very normal hen with just a little bit of trouble seeing out of that eye. She is still top of the pecking order, by the way.

 

[ArrowheadG]

It is certainly worth trying to release air with a needle but you should be able to feel if it is air inside or tissue. If it is solid tissue or you cannot release any air with a hypodermic needle then my gut feeling is that it is probably a tumour and a vet is not likely to be able to help even if you could afford one.... my funds don't run to veterinary care for my chickens either so don't feel bad about that and I would hate for you to incur that expense when it may not benefit the bird anyway.
How old is she? Looking at her, I would guess that she is adolescent and that might point towards it being Marek's disease.
How long have you had her and was she vaccinated for Marek's. It is done by the hatchery when they hatch IF you request it and pay extra for the chick. If bought from a private breeder then usually they are not vaccinated. Have you had any lame chickens or ones that died in the past few months?
How many chickens do you have and what are their ages?

You will need to be more assertive if you want to try and help this bird. Lifting her off the roost at night is the best way to catch and examine her. Use a head torch, so that you have both hands free and use an old towel to wrap around her to keep her wings and feet secure whilst you examine her. Once she feels secure she will stop struggling. Enlist someone else to help you and discuss how it feels.... 2 pairs of hands and two minds are better than one for assessing things when you are inexperienced. If you decide to try to express it with a hypodermic needle, make sure it is sterile and give the skin a rub with an antiseptic wipe where you are going to insert the needle. You will only need a very short needle because if it is air, it will be pretty much just under the skin, so don't go deeper than quarter of an inch. If it feels really solid when you push it in, it is probably a tumour but have a good look at the skin for any discolouration or obvious blood vessels before you insert it. You will know pretty much immediately if it is air from a leaking air sac as you will hear it coming out.

Other things to do....
Check her crop function. Feel her crop at night when she goes to roost, remove access to food and feel it again first thing in the morning. If her crop (or at least one of the bumps on her chest) has not gone flat then she has a problem with her digestive tract. Obviously, give them their food once you have checked her in the morning.
Watch her closely when she is eating. Does she really eat or does she just pretend. Sick birds will often go through the motions of appearing healthy and active until they are too sock to do so. I have seen sick birds loo9k like they are eating with the rest of the flock but when you watch closely they pick up and drop the same piece of food.

In the photo her head is twisted to the left. Is it often in that position or was that just how you captured her in the photo?

Get back to us with more information as discussed above and better photos and hopefully we will have more idea.... bear in mind that when an animal is taken to the vet, he or she can see, feel, hear and smell the bird and watch how they react. We cannot do that from a computer screen, so we need you to provide as much information as you can, in order for us to help you.

Thank you! She is about 4-5 months old. We have six chickens total, three being at least five years older than the other three. We were told that all

It is certainly worth trying to release air with a needle but you should be able to feel if it is air inside or tissue. If it is solid tissue or you cannot release any air with a hypodermic needle then my gut feeling is that it is probably a tumour and a vet is not likely to be able to help even if you could afford one.... my funds don't run to veterinary care for my chickens either so don't feel bad about that and I would hate for you to incur that expense when it may not benefit the bird anyway.
How old is she? Looking at her, I would guess that she is adolescent and that might point towards it being Marek's disease.
How long have you had her and was she vaccinated for Marek's. It is done by the hatchery when they hatch IF you request it and pay extra for the chick. If bought from a private breeder then usually they are not vaccinated. Have you had any lame chickens or ones that died in the past few months?
How many chickens do you have and what are their ages?

You will need to be more assertive if you want to try and help this bird. Lifting her off the roost at night is the best way to catch and examine her. Use a head torch, so that you have both hands free and use an old towel to wrap around her to keep her wings and feet secure whilst you examine her. Once she feels secure she will stop struggling. Enlist someone else to help you and discuss how it feels.... 2 pairs of hands and two minds are better than one for assessing things when you are inexperienced. If you decide to try to express it with a hypodermic needle, make sure it is sterile and give the skin a rub with an antiseptic wipe where you are going to insert the needle. You will only need a very short needle because if it is air, it will be pretty much just under the skin, so don't go deeper than quarter of an inch. If it feels really solid when you push it in, it is probably a tumour but have a good look at the skin for any discolouration or obvious blood vessels before you insert it. You will know pretty much immediately if it is air from a leaking air sac as you will hear it coming out.

Other things to do....
Check her crop function. Feel her crop at night when she goes to roost, remove access to food and feel it again first thing in the morning. If her crop (or at least one of the bumps on her chest) has not gone flat then she has a problem with her digestive tract. Obviously, give them their food once you have checked her in the morning.
Watch her closely when she is eating. Does she really eat or does she just pretend. Sick birds will often go through the motions of appearing healthy and active until they are too sock to do so. I have seen sick birds loo9k like they are eating with the rest of the flock but when you watch closely they pick up and drop the same piece of food.

In the photo her head is twisted to the left. Is it often in that position or was that just how you captured her in the photo?

Get back to us with more information as discussed above and better photos and hopefully we will have more idea.... bear in mind that when an animal is taken to the vet, he or she can see, feel, hear and smell the bird and watch how they react. We cannot do that from a computer screen, so we need you to provide as much information as you can, in order for us to help you.

She is 4-5 months old, along with two others. We have three more, ages 5 years and up. The last one we had did was our Turken, which died months before getting the younger three. We were told that they were all vaccinated upon being bought.

Yesterday, she seemed to be eating fine. I didn’t see her drop any pieces. I can watch her today, though.

And as for everything else, I’ll reply once I get back home! I’m on my phone now, and my class is about to start.

 

[micstrachan]

There's two lumps: her crop and then this unusual lump. And we've fed her as normal, there has been no lack of food to her. Even if there one, I doubt that would explain the two lumps (again, one being her crop.)

Ok, if you are certain that is not her crop, that changes things. I suspect a tumor or cyst. Is it firm? Squishy? Can you part the feathers and examine the skin? See if it’s inflamed/pink or vascularized (with lots of blood vessels). See if there is a wound that could have gotten infected. Does it seem to be affecting her behavior, eating, drinking, breathing? Posting a video of her body language might be helpful. Sorry about your girl.